Key Findings:

• Mobile remains a top threat vector, with 111% growth in spyware and 29% growth in banking malware
• Technology, education, and manufacturing sectors continue to be most susceptible to attacks
• The United States remains the top target for IoT, OT, and mobile cybersecurity attacks

Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS), the leader in cloud security, today published its Zscaler ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile, IoT, and OT Threat Report, which offers an overview of the mobile and IoT/OT cyber threat landscape from June 2023 through May 2024. The findings in this report stress the urgency for organizations to reevaluate and secure mobile devices, IoT devices and OT systems. ThreatLabz identified more than 200 malicious apps in the Google Play Store, with more than 8 million collective installs, and the Zscaler cloud blocked 45% more IoT malware transactions than last year–indicative of botnets continuing to proliferate across IoT devices.

"Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting legacy exposed assets which often act as a beachhead to IoT & OT environments, resulting in data breaches and ransomware attacks," said Deepen Desai, Chief Security Officer at Zscaler. "Mobile malware and AI driven vishing attacks adds to that list making it critical for CISOs and CIOs to prioritize an AI powered zero trust solution to shut down attack vectors of all kinds safeguarding against these attacks."

Financially motivated mobile attacks remain a top threat vector
With 29% growth in banking malware attacks and a 111% rise in spyware year over year, cyberattacks have never been more profitable for threat actors, either through monetary gain via direct extortion or passthrough use of stolen personally identifiable information (PII) and user credentials that can be sold and leveraged in future attacks.

Anatsa, a known Android banking malware that uses PDF and QR code readers to distribute malware, has targeted more than 650 financial institutions, and more specifically, users in Germany, Spain, Finland, South Korea and Singapore.

The United States remains the top target for IoT cyberattacks
With its central role in global communication and data processes, the US also stands out as the primary destination for IoT device traffic, accounting for 81% of IoT cyberattacks. The top five countries that receive the most IoT traffic are:

• United States
• Japan
• China
• Singapore
• Germany

The report also revealed that India (28%) is now the country most targeted by mobile malware. The other four are:

• United States
• Canada
• South Africa
• The Netherlands

Legacy and end-of-life operation systems leave OT systems vulnerable
Once air-gapped and isolated from the internet, OT and cyber-physical systems have rapidly become integrated into enterprise networks, enabling threats to proliferate. OT deployments can involve thousands of connected devices spread across dozens of sites, creating a substantial attack surface for external threats, such as those that exploit known zero-day vulnerabilities. Additionally, this also creates a large attack surface between internal (east-west) OT traffic, increasing the risk of lateral movement and the potential blast radius of a successful attack.

How to secure mobile, IoT and OT 
With today’s hybrid-work environments, users can work from anywhere with internet access, SaaS apps and private applications, whether in the cloud or the data center. To enable secure hybrid work and provide seamless access to any application, enterprises need to retire network-centric approaches, which hamper productivity and leave them vulnerable to lateral movement. Instead, organizations must adopt a zero trust architecture that enables secure remote access from any user device to any application, from any location.

Zscaler for IoT and OT enables enterprises to reduce cyber risk while embracing IoT and OT connectivity to drive business agility and increase productivity. Powered by the Zero Trust Exchange, these capabilities protect IoT devices against compromise and prevent lateral movement with device segmentation and deception–all while allowing for remote access to OT systems without risky VPN connectivity.

The findings of the 2024 Mobile, IoT, and OT Threat Report stress the need for organizations to better secure their mobile endpoints, IoT devices, and OT systems. Download the full report here.